Dentist&#39;s saliva ejector



Oct. 17, G|RV|N 1,930,712

DENTIST S SALIVA EJECTOR Filed Feb. 18, 1930 ummm C TORNE Y5 PatentedOct. 17, 1933 untrue srArss I ncur DENTISTS SALIVA EJECTOR EdwardGirvin, Los Angeles, Calif., assigncr to Surgidcnt 00., Ltd, LosAngeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application February 18,

4 Claims.

i'his invention relates to a saliva ejector such as used by dentists forwithdrawing saliva from the mouth of the patient while the mouth is heldopen during a dental operation. In per a formi ary dental operations,dentists are much inconvenienced by the presence of saliva; its presenceseriously interferes with the making of certain fillings which requireabsolute dryness in order to be effective, and it has been the practicefor dentists to use rubber dams for isolating the tooth being operatedupon and also to use rolls of absorbent ma terial ced in the patientsmouth to absorb the saliva. Neither of these methods is verysatisfactory and one of the difficulties is that saliva secreted on theupper jaw may fall to aw. Furthermore, the rolls of aberial sometimesecome greatly satu L11 saliva, but it is not feasible to remove .hilethe dental operation on the tooth is proceeding.

It has also been the practice to provide an ejector tube hung in thepatients mouth with an inlet nozzle at its inner end which withdraws thesaliva in cooperation with an ejector stream of water alongside of thedentists chair.

Such ejector tubes are usually provided in their inlet nozzle with a fewperforations located on the side of the nozzle near its end and theseperforations, due to the partial vacuum existing within the nozzle, havea tendency to draw the gums or adjacent tissue against the side of theinlet nozzle so as to close up the openings and this interferes with theefficiency of the ejector tube. Furthermore, such ejector tubes areusually constructed of a fixed form, that is, they are rigid. In usingsuch an ejector tube it is frequently found that the shape of the tubeis not well adapted to its position in the patients mouth.

During the performance of many dental operations it is necessary for thepatient to hold his mouth widely open and this may become very tiresometo the patient.

The general object of this invention is to provide a simple means forovercoming these difficulties and to provide a dentists ejector tube ofsimple construction having improved means for withdrawing the salivafrom the patients mouth in the vicinity of the upper gum, as well as thelower jaw, enabling the use of absorbent rolls to be dispensed with.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ejector tube ofimproved construction, enabling it to be readily bent to lit the mouth1930. Serial No. 429,309

of the patient, or to suit its particular loca tion in the mouth.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple means for bracingthe upper jaw in an open position.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combinations of to bedescribed here inatter, all of which contribute to produce an efiicientdentists saliva ejector.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the followingspecification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective illustrating an open mouth and the embodimentof my invention applied in practical use.

Figure 2 is a perspective illustrating the preferred embodiment 01. mydevice removed from the jaw, and showing a short portion of the ejector'hose connected to the ejector tube.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the device particularly illustratingthe construction of the brace and its relation to the ejector tube.

Figure 4 is a section taken about on the line li of Figure 3, andfurther lustrating details of the device, and illustrat ig the manner inwhich an absorbent hose is employed to cooperate with the ejector tubeto withdraw the saliva from the patients mouth.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken about on the line 5-5 of Figure 3and further illustrating details of the clasp, end of the brace.

Referring more particularly to the parts, and especially to Figure 1, 1indicates an ejector tube embodying my invention.

This ejector tube is formed of a non-resilient, flexible material, suchas aluminum. 'It has a substantially straight round shank 2 which isattached to an ejector hose 3 that connects with the water fountain atthe side of the dental chair in the usual way, not illustrated, butwhich operates to produce a partial vacuum or suction in the tube 1. Atan intermediate point on its length, the tube 1 is formed with a bend 4that adapts it to be hung on the lower jaw 5 of the patient. (See Figure1.) Beyond the bend 4 the ejector tube is formed with a substantiallystraight extension 6 that constitutes an inlet or suction nozzle whichextends downwardly at th lower jaw back of the teeth.

By reason of the fact that 1 form thisejector tube of non-resilient,flexible material, it can be bent to any desired shape to suit thepatients mouth or any special requirements, and will maintain any shapeinto which it has been bent by the dentist. Such a tube may be used toadvantage for withdrawing saliva and if desired, may be used withoutspecial means such as I 5 shall now describe for increasing theeffectiveness of the tube in use.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the ejector tube, and also toadapt it to withdraw saliva from the vicinity of the upper gum '7, aswell as from the lower jaw, I provide a length of absorbent hose 8. Thishose is preferably formed of absorbent cotton and is a woven tube orhose, one end 9 of which is telescoped over the nozzle 6 of the tube 1.

The absorbent hose 8 is manipulated so as to set it in place in themanner indicated in Figure 1. In this way any saliva originating andcollecting in the vicinity of the upper gum '7 will be absorbed by thehose and will be conducte down to the suction nozzle 6 where it will bedrawn oil. In addition to this, the portion of the hose in the vicinityof the nozzle 6 prevents the perforationslo of the nozzle from beingclosed by coming in contact with the flesh.

In order to enable the upper jaw to be braced in an open position, Iprefer to employ with the tube 1 a brace 11 that is preferably providedwith cans for attaching it to the shank 2 of lnrs brace maybe of anysuitable construction, but preferably consists of a plateform body 12carrying a clasp 13 which frictionally engages the tube 1. For thispurpose body 12 preferably formed of main plate 1=i with an opening 15punched in it at which point the material of the plate 14 is bentoutwardly so as to form two converging flanges 16, the sides of whichrest firmly against the side of the tube.

Between the adjacent edges of the flanges a gap or socket 17 is formedopening onto the side of the clasp. The plate 14 is formed with sidewings 18 that may be pressed together between the dentists thumb andforefinger to open the socket to release the clamp 13 and permit thebody 12 to be adjusted up or down on the shank of the tube, also toenable the clasp to be applied to the shank a lateral movement againstthe shank. If des red, the shank of the tube may be knurled or roughedin any other suitable manner to assist this operation. By reason of thefact that the clamp 13 is frictionally-tight on the shank 2, and byreason of the fact that the clamp is devoid of a hand-operatedfastening, such as a set screw, the rest can be very readily adjusted byusing one hand to adjust it; that is to say, it can be readily slid upor down on the shank, and also rotated on the shank as may be desired toenable the stirrup at the upper end of the rest to seat itself firmly ona tooth of the upper jaw.

The brace also includes a stem 19 which is preferably of bifurcatedform. This stem is most conveniently formed of wire and is of bifurcatedrm, as shown, the two legs 20 of the stem being secured by metal strips21 on the outer face of the plate 14. The stem 19 at its upper end isbent so as to form a stirrup 22 forming a rudimentary socket 23 to fitover and receive the teeth or a tooth of the upper jaw.

t is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein isonly one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I do notwish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims,to the particular embodiment set forth;

What I claim is:

1. In a dentists saliva ejector, the combination of a tube having around shank constructed to be attached to an ejector hose and having abend at an intermediate point on its length adapting the tube to be hungover ones lower jaw with the inner end of the tube disposed within themouth, a hose of absorbent material telescoped over the inner end of thetube, and a rest having a socket open on its side for detachablysecuring the same to said shank by a lateral movement of the socketagainst the shank, said restextending upwardly from the shank, andhaving a stirrup at its upper end to engage the teeth or gums of thealveolar ridge, said rest being devoid of a fastening and beingfrictiontight on said shank to enable the same to be moved up or downand twisted on the shank in adjusting the stirrup.

2. In a dentists saliva ejector, the combination of a tube having ashank to be attached to an ejector hose and having a bend at anintermediate point on its length to enable the same to be hung over oneslower jaw, and a brace having a clasp with a socket open on its side andhaving a pair of jaws for engaging the shank of the tube by, a lateralmovement of the clasp against the tube, said clasp having a stemextending upwardly therefrom, and with a stirrup formed at the upper endto engage the teeth of the upper jaw to hold the mouth open, said claspbeing friction-tight on the shank and enabling the same to be moved upor down and twisted on the shank in adjusting the position of thestirrup.

3. As a' new article of manufacture, a brace to be used with a dentistsejector tube having a body in the form of a plate with a resilient claspfor attaching the same to the saliva tube, and a bifurcated stern formedof wire extending from the body and having a stirrup at its upper end tofit over andengage the teeth of the patients upper jaw.

4. In a dentists saliva ejector, the combination of a tube having around shank constructed to be attachedto an ejector hose and having abend at an intermediate point on its length adapting the tube to be hungover the patients lower jaw with the inner end of the tube disposedwithin the mouth, a hose of absorbent material telescoped over the innerend of the tube and a rest having a socket with resilient means foryieldingly clamping the rest on'the round shank, said rest including astem extending upwardly and having a stirrup at its upper end to engagethe teeth or gums of the alveolar ridge, said rest operating so as toenable the same to be slid up or down or twisted on the shank inadjusting the stirrup.

EDWARD GIRVIN.

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